Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal joins the BJP, saying “dancers and film actors” were preferred over him for the nominations for the upper house of Parliament.

Samajwadi party leader Naresh Agrawal joined BJP in New Delhi on Monday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agarwal on Monday joined the BJP, saying “dancers and film actors” were preferred over him for the nominations for the upper house of Parliament.

“My comparison was drawn with those working in films... I was rejected for those who dance in films, work in films. I found it not proper. Nobody found it proper,” said Agarwal , referring to Samajwadi Party selecting film actress Jaya Bachchan as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha.

Agarwal’s term in the upper house ends shortly and he had protested Bachchan’s nomination.

Describing his joining the BJP as “homecoming”, he said he would unconditionally do whatever the party wanted him to.

“I have not joined the Bharatiya Janata Party for any Rajya Sabha ticket, nor have I set any condition.”

Agarwal, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, lauded the Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah.

Agarwal has often changed parties in the last over 30 years of his political career.

He had earlier been with the Akhil Bhartiya Loktantrik Congress with Jagdambika Pal, Rajeev Shukla and Shyam Sunder Sharma that allied with the BJP government headed by Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh in 1997.